


Remember to Ignore your Heart

by makingitwork



Series: Bughead Prompts [56]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Character Study, Cheerleader Betty, F/F, F/M, Jock Jughead, and choni, bughead - Freeform, but there's some good varchie, cheerleader cheryl, cheerleader polly, cheerleader toni, choni, don't know how to describe this, established relationship for bughead, established relationship for choni, investigative duo bughead, look its got all the ships really, maybe it leans slightly towards bughead, meet cute for varchie, new girl veronica, so why not, ummm poor kevin, varchie, vixen betty, vixen cheryl, vixen toni, what am i typing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-24
Updated: 2018-11-24
Packaged: 2019-08-28 18:40:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16728762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/makingitwork/pseuds/makingitwork
Summary: Veronica moves to Riverdale with a plan.





	Remember to Ignore your Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy, lovelies!

Veronica likes Kevin immediately. 

Gay, well dressed and with his ear to the ground she knows they'll get on like a house on fire. So, she slots her Chanel purse into the crook of her elbow and shakes his hand the way her mother taught her to- with her other one clasped over, so his is engulfed between her two dainty ones. "It's clearly not a private school, but I suppose it'll have to do," she says with a haughty sigh and Kevin looks at her like he's viciously pleased by her snark. She loops their arms together to encourage familiarity- the way her father told her to, and they begin the tour of the school. 

It's pretty generic. It  _isn't_ a private school, but it's not too shabby either. There are lockers and a cafeteria and classrooms with tables that have doodles on them. There are big backpacks and crumpled text books and a glittering array of activities pinned up to the notice board. She takes in the battered couches of the student lounge and wrinkles her nose slightly, unsure if she'll ever actually work up the nerve to sit on something that looks to be more springs than plastic, but declines to comment. Kevin, being as astute as he is, sees it and grins at her mock conspiratorially. He must not like it here either. 

Veronica's not surprised. 

He gives her the rundown on everything and everyone along with a brief rundown of where her different classes will be. She shares all of them with him, which she thinks is good, because going by the calibre of student she's seeing, they don't seem like the type she'd normally confer with. 

She is, however, struck by a feisty red head wearing last season's Gucci and she touches Kevin's shoulder with the wordless question. "That's Cheryl Blossom," he whispers, and Veronica hums as she watches the red-head bark orders at two other girls. "Richest girl in Riverdale, not even you can beat her I don't think. Her parents run the Maple Syrup game, it's our biggest trade. She has a twin brother: Jason, on the football team. Cheryl's head vixen, that's the leader of the cheerleading squad." 

The raven-haired girl cocks her head in surprise. "Cheerleaders?" She asks questioningly, "isn't that a little...dated?"

"Tried and true," Kevin shrugs, continuing onwards. Veronica lingers, though. Her eyes on Cheryl. The girl is tall and slim and pale; pretty in all the ways that say she's Queen Bee. And with money too, Veronica hadn't been expecting that. The fiery tresses go down to Cheryl's waist and she's dressed in various shades of ruby with bronze jewellery to finish it all off. Veronica herself is adorned in lilacs today; a chiffon dress and matching kitten heels. Her mother's pearl necklace hanging over the collar. Cheryl looks across the hallway and makes eye contact with her; those green eyes drag up and down Veronica's form and she smiles. It's a calculating smile, but on the whole friendly. She likes what she sees. 

Veronica makes sure to smile back because Cheryl looks like the only person in this place on her level. She'll have to remember that. And there's no one better to be friends with than the Queen Bee. 

After the tour of the cafeteria, which is severely underwhelming, and a low down of the various cliques (which is really no different to Veronica's old school, just more...budget) he takes her out towards the sports field. "Jocks and Cheerleaders," Kevin sighs wistfully. "You may not like cheerleaders, but if you were eying Cheryl the way I think you were, you're going to have to audition to be a Vixen. I'd be surprised if she didn't let you in, though. Not when you dress so well." 

Veronica nods, storing all the information away as they approach the bleachers. A football game is happening on the pitch and the Coach is whistling as a bunch of attractive and in shape boys run across the greenery. Veronica lets her eyes linger over their forms appreciatively. Jocks are attractive, and no doubt, very high on the chain. Her eyes skitter over the stands- losers in band, dorks with textbooks, and then practising some cheers are...Vixens. 

She frowns. The Cheerleaders look good. Not how she expected. They're all beautiful, slim girls, obviously. Cheryl clearly has taste and expectation. But their uniforms are nicer too. A periwinkle over white, with all white shoes and ankle white socks that peek out at the bottom of their long legs. Their pompoms are yellow and blue and matches the glittering  _R_ for Riverdale High blazoned over their chests. "Why isn't Cheryl here?" She asks curiously. The red-head and Queen Bee had seemed the controlling type from the way she had been yelling at her girls. 

"Practise game," Kevin fills in, gesturing to the match unfolding. "Vixens aren't required to come, so the only ones that do are girlfriends of the players and stuff like that. Ooh, apart from her," he points to a Vixen with dark skin and pink pigtails spinning in the air. "That's Toni Topaz, Cheryl's girlfriend. She comes because she loves it. Make sure not to get on her bad side or Cheryl will never accept you."

She raises her eyebrows and nods. A little disappointed to be honest. She doesn't swing towards girls often, but Cheryl had been...it's a shame. Ah well. Kevin and her make their way up onto the bleachers and sit on the black benches watching the game as he fills her in on a number of the players. It's a cold day but there isn't any wind, so Veronica finds herself perfectly comfortable. She takes in everything he's saying and watches the Vixens cheer. They've all got wide smiles on their faces and Veronica's heart is a little bit warmed by the sight of such endearing small town spirit. It's surprising. 

"Number 13, the red head," she murmurs, as the Coach blows the whistle and the players collapse in a heap on the ground. Thirteen had been good. Broad and muscular in a homespun kind of way. He's now crouched on the ground by Number 8 who's lying flat on his back and catching his breath. 8 had been good too. A little leaner than Veronica tended to like, but from what she can see through the helmet, attractive and nimble. Quick on his feet. 

Kevin groans. "That is Archie Andrews. Definitely the  _hottest_ guy in school, and unfortunately straight." He perks up and nudges Veronica. "He would definitely go for you. Tall, dark and mysterious. You could be the one that Archie finally sticks with." 

She watches as Archie and number eight begin walking off the pitch. They've removed their helmets now and she can better see that ginger hair and freckled face. 8 must say something funny, because Archie smiles; wide and beaming, and Veronica feels something warm twist in her heart again. "Is he a bit of a player?" She asks curiously. 

"Not really," her friend sighs, "he just burns bright and fast. A bit of a hot mess. He has so many things he wants to do and he can't ever seem to settle." 

She nods consideringly. Watching as Archie claps number 8 on the back and then looks up. She's startled as they make eye contact, but she smiles and he grins at her, certainly looking like he finds her at least as attractive as she finds him. She hums and turns away; focusing on number 8 who's walking over to the cheerleaders. "And what about 8? He's cute." 

Kevin shakes his head and Veronica bristles a little bit. She's never had a guy turn her down before- not one who was straight anyway, and 8 is definitely cute enough for her to at least try. She'll need a jock to help gain some social standing here, and if Archie turns out to be a flake, she likes the cut of number 8. He's all lean muscle and dark blue hair; slightly olive skin too. "As if," Kevin snorts, and Veronica narrows her eyes. "No offence, you're a queen, but that's Jughead Jones. He and Betty Cooper are end game." As if on cue, Veronica watches as 'Jughead' (and what kind of a name is that?) goes over to one of the cheerleaders. 

One of the prettiest cheerleaders, and Veronica get's a closer look at her as Jughead eases her away from the routine. The girl is delicate looking, with curves and golden hair in a ponytail and a big smile. She wraps her arms around Jughead's neck and they kiss. His hands are strong and familiar on her waist. They look very,  _very_ good together. The darkness of his hair and skin, and the milky whiteness and fresh gold of hers. Veronica approves. Okay. Fine. They certainly seem very much in love. "Have they been dating long?" 

"Basically forever," Kevin nods. "And word of warning, Betty is one of my best friends so she is firmly off-limits to whatever schemes you may have to become new Queen Bee." 

Veronica nods, but she has her fingers crossed.

"They're gonna get married. They're perfect for each other. The whole school is pro-bughead, even Cheryl." 

It's cute, but... "Just a jock and a cheerleader," she teases, "it's not that perfect." 

Kevin scoffs, rolling his eyes. "Not  _just_ anything. They run the school newspaper the  _BlueandGold,_ and the Mayor's consulted with them on a few cases. They're  _the_ detective duo. Can't keep anything past them. I'd have them on your good side. Brains and beauty," he shakes his head wistfully. "They have everything." 

Veronica taps her nails against her knee thoughtfully. Okay then. Definitely people to have on side. Betty, with her big smile and golden hair and pompoms looks like she'll be easy enough to win over (and really, what kind of a name is Betty? When is this town even set?) but there's probably more than meets the surface. Jughead looks like a tougher cookie, so Veronica will have to try to get to him through his girlfriend. She smirks a little as she sees that the two of them are  _still_ making out. Betty's hands are still hooked behind his head and the tassels of her pompoms trail down his back. He's wound his own hands around the small of her back, pressing them flush together and no one is blinking or looking twice at them which tells her this is a regular occurrence. 

Okay then. 

"Introduce me to Betty," Veronica orders, making sure her hair is perfect even though she doesn't think it will impact the introduction. 

Kevin obediently hastens to obey her. He leads her down the bleachers and heads over to the couple. Veronica stays back a little way, as is only polite, and watches as Jughead and Betty pull away from each other. Betty outright  _beams_ at Kevin, but Jughead's face doesn't give much away. Okay. If he doesn't like Kevin, Veronica isn't going to go down well. She hears Kevin introduce her and she steps forward. Betty smiles at her, waving cheerily. "Hi, Veronica." She greets in a sweet, melodic voice. She's a little flushed. Veronica guesses it's both from cheering and making out with her boyfriend. "It's great to meet you! I hope you like Riverdale."

She sounds like she's out of a town ad for this place. She smiles back as widely as she can. "It's great to meet you too, Betty. Kevin's said wonderful things about you." Betty flushes, and Veronica turns to Jughead who looks like he couldn't be less interested. "And Jughead. Kevin was very complimentary about you as well."

Jughead snorts. From up close she can see his eyes are a ferny green and Betty's are bright sapphires. Like the forest and the sky. Wild and peaceful. She's struck by how much she's actually rooting for them.  _Her._ The Veronica Lodge who considers herself above all these subpar highshool transgressions. "Cool. Nice to meet you," he offers succinctly, giving a half-hearted two fingered salute and already seeming bored with the interaction. He turns back to Betty. "Wanna head off now?" 

Betty nods, offering another wave at Veronica and a half-hug to Kevin, before the two of them twine hands and walk off the field. 

Veronica frowns. 

* * *

 

The next day, she wears her favourite Vogue outfit and curls the ends of her hair and walks in with a game plan. 

The game plan starts at lunch. Kevin, as everyone should be, is in awe at her outfit as she struts into the cafeteria with him at her side. She's brought her own lunch because Lodge's don't wait in lines, and also because she doesn't trust whatever's being served here. She scans the tables with all the scrutiny of an eagle. There's a table full of Vixens, a table full of Jocks, the burnouts, the losers, the nerds, a few loners and stragglers, before she settles on a table that she knows she  _needs_ to be at. 

This table contains: Archie, Cheryl, another red-head who looks tremendously like Cheryl so must be her twin brother, Toni Topaz, and a blonde who looks oddly like Betty. There are two extra seats at this table which Veronica assumes are for Betty and Jughead. It's the golden table. Dimly, she wonders where Kevin usually sits. She doesn't ask though, because she doesn't particularly care. He's dispensable. 

"Talk to me about that table," she murmurs, pointing subtly. 

Kevin nods. "So that's Jason, Cheryl's twin, and he's dating the blonde- that's Polly. She's Betty's sister."

Veronica blinks, taking it all in. Okay. It's more tightly wound than she thought. "Are Betty and Jughead close to everyone at that table?" She hedges, wondering if maybe she can try to splinter a divide to create a space for herself. She's not even deterred by the fact Polly and Betty are sisters. Where Veronica's from, family can be easily used against one another. That's why Lodges are so strong. They never turn their back on family. Unfortunately, that's crushed by Kevin's following words:

"Really close. Archie is best friends with Jughead and Betty- he still lives next door to Betty. Jughead and Toni are neighbours, and really good friends, Toni and Betty also work together at the animal adoption centre on the weekends. Cheryl adores Polly, because Polly adores Jason, and so by extension, adores Betty. Archie and Cheryl are also really close. They dated for a bit, but you know what Archie's like, and I think that's before Cheryl really knew what she liked. Jughead and Jason are quite close as well, just because they're dating sisters and you need to stick together to defeat Alice Cooper." 

Veronica guesses that's the Cooper mother. "What about Cheryl and Jughead?" She wouldn't have thought they'd get on. Jughead doesn't seem the type to like  _rich._

"Really close." Kevin murmurs, which just makes absolutely no sense. "Jughead introduced Toni and Cheryl. Cheryl even gave Jughead her iconic spider broach."

He says it likes it's truly momentous, but Veronica doesn't know, she hasn't been here. But she doesn't like her odds. They're all wrapped around each other. She can't seem to find a way in. "Are there  _any_ weak links?" She asks, almost desperately, and Kevin frowns. 

"You won't be able to join their clique by pushing someone out," he says, the first time he's sounded in any way disapproving. "They either want you, or they don't. You can't use weird schemes to get friendship." 

Veronica rolls her eyes. He's wrong. But other people usually are. So, she abandons him and struts over to the table. Cheryl and Archie look up eagerly. The others look at her with confusion. "Veronica Lodge," she introduces smoothly. "I thought I'd come over and introduce myself." She focuses her attention on Cheryl, who's wearing a maroon sweater that looks custom made by prada. "Seeing as how you obviously have such good taste." 

Cheryl beams, flicking her hair over her shoulder, but Toni gives Veronica a strange look. "I thought I saw someone with an eye for fashion in the hallway yesterday." She says, gesturing to an empty seat. "Sit. I'm Cheryl Bombshell. This is my beau, Toni," Toni doesn't wave, but she does give a two-fingered salute just like Jughead did. Veronica has a feeling she hasn't won any points with her by blatant flattery. "This is my brother Jason, and his girlfriend Polly," they both wave, and Veronica notes that Jason doesn't seem all too interested in proceedings, and Polly has that same earnest smile that Betty had. "And this, is Archie Andrews." 

Veronica sits right by Archie and he turns and offers her a small, private grin. "Hey Ronnie," he murmurs in a low, appealing voice. "Welcome to Riverdale." 

She resists the urge to blush because  _Lodges don't get feelings_ and sets her sushi on the table in front of her. "Happy to be here. Though it is different from my last home." 

"Where was that?" Cheryl asks, an approving glint in her eyes at the sight of sushi. Veronica pats herself on the back mentally for not picking the homemade pasta that was also in the fridge. 

"New York." She preens, and smiles at the excited murmur from the rest of the table. She's only just started regaling them with tales of New York and the elite when Betty and Jughead walk up to the table. She pauses, chopsticks between her fingers as she stares. His arm's slung over her shoulder, and he's in a blue and yellow letterman jacket that matches her Vixen uniform. Her hand is in his jacket pocket, and his arm on her shoulder is twirling with the ends of her ponytail. They're definitely a singular item. 

"Veronica!" Betty beams, looking pleased to see her there, which is more than Veronica can say for Jughead, who doesn't seem as if he's noticed. "Good to see you again! Are you settling in okay?" 

This girl might be rainbows personified into a human being. Veronica nods, unable to find words for the first time ever, or even a witty comeback. 

"Cheryl, Toni," Jughead murmurs, "you ready?" 

Ready for  _what_ Veronica wants to ask, but doesn't. Instead, she watches as the Queen Bee and her Magenta-haired girlfriend get up and pack their stuff away. She watches as Jughead kisses Betty's temple tenderly, and she looks up at him with her big blue eyes. "You stay safe, okay?" She murmurs, and he nods, holding her tightly. Cheryl and Toni are holding hands, and Betty slips into Cheryl's now empty seat. She continues to watch as Jughead and Toni do a small, complicated handshake, and he and Cheryl bump shoulders like old friends. Like people who have shared stuff. 

"We'll see you guys later," Jughead nods, but Veronica has a feeling she's not included in the statement, before the three of them leave.

She's irritated. Cheryl was the one she needed to impress. "Where are they going?" She asks, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice. 

"Serpent stuff," Betty sighs despondently, staring at her hands on the table. Archie makes a sympathetic sound. 

"Why aren't you going too, Betty?" He asks. "You're a Serpent now."

She sighs, shaking her head. "Three man operation. We drew straws." 

Veronica has no idea what the hell they're talking about. Serpents? Like snakes? Is it a club? She doesn't ask. She's not sure what to make of it all before Archie nudges her with a kind smile on his face. "You were telling us about New York, Ronnie." 

Her heart skips. 

* * *

Archie, she decides, is her way in. 

He likes her, and to her surprise, she likes him, and everyone in the clique likes him so it stands to reason that if she becomes his girlfriend, she's found a way to get another seat at that coveted table. There's no point doing high school, is there, unless you're doing it from the top? She auditions to be a Vixen, and to no one's surprise, gets in. That means she spends more and more time with Cheryl, Betty, Polly and Toni. She even gets invited to a sleep over at Thornhill Manor. It's weird, but...it's nice. It's nice. She hadn't expected it to be so nice and she's never really had friends who were girls before. 

Cheryl is....a lot like her, it's a little bit scary. She's fiercely loyal of her family, she's a fashion icon and she's cutthroat. All things Veronica likes. Cheryl would have done very well in New York. It's impossible not to like Betty, really. She's a little too sweet, but she's bright. Really bright, actually. In line to be Valedictorian and the head of a whole host of clubs and societies and hoping to be a journalist some day. Polly is...Veronica finds her a little bland, but she has a unique sense of humour and she's not afraid to be herself. Veronica can admire that. Toni is...Toni is an enigma. Toni is fierce, just like Cheryl, and a bad ass with a great, but different, sense of style. Her hair always looks good, and she's annoyingly perceptive and a touch protective of her girlfriend. 

Veronica's tried to strike up conversation, but Toni isn't too responsive. Veronica doesn't know why. Maybe because Toni's so obviously far away from her in terms of wealth? She lives in the Trailer Park by Jughead, Veronica knows that. Maybe Toni's ashamed, but...but her girlfriend is  _Cheryl_ so that can't be it. She doesn't know why, yet. Maybe she's just got trust issues and it's going to take more time. 

She and Archie are moving along at a nice, steady rate. He clearly likes her, but she wants to make sure she gives him a chase. She doesn't want him to get bored so she pulls and retreats as soon as he gets too close, and the most they've done is a few sordid kisses after dark. She tries not to think about how she feels about him because it's not relevant. Instead, she thinks about how getting to be his girlfriend would secure her position near the top of the food chain. 

Being on the cheerleading squad also means she's at games more. Which means she sees the guys more. Jason is nice and the most receptive to being her friend. They've gone out to see movies together a few times, and she likes him. If Polly wasn't in the picture, she'd totally have chosen him because he dresses so well and comes from money (her heart says something like  _no we like Archie_ whenever she thinks that, but she ignores it). Jason is nice, a more toned down version of his sister and completely in love with Polly and Polly's weird sense of humour. He's a good football player, and on track for Varsity just like Archie. Jughead is not on track for varsity, but he's a good player. He's not on track because he skips out on a lot of training sessions to go  _body hunting_ with Betty or whatever the hell they do in their spare time. 

Veronica's tried to get close to him. She's bought him burgers and milkshakes and flashed the cover of old crime DVD's she knows he likes. He treats her...politely. Like he considers her on the very fringes of his social circle. She overheard him talking to Betty once, and like always, she'd ducked in to listen. He'd said that he thought she was  _Breakfast at Tiffany's_ and nothing else. Veronica takes it as a compliment, but it doesn't tell her enough. He eats the burgers and nods at her in corridors, but other than that...blank. Just like Toni. 

She wonders if the two of them have something against her because they live in the Trailer Park.

She wonders if she's too much of a snob. 

At the end of a game, adrenaline pumping and sweat slicked, Veronica watches as Jughead jogs off the pitch, dips Betty in his arms and kisses her. She watches as Cheryl and Toni cup each other's faces and kiss each other. She watches as Jason spins Polly around and kisses her so she squeals with surprise. Then she feels Archie run off the pitch, lift her up into the air and kiss her on the mouth. 

It's one of the happiest moments of her life and she spends the next few days scolding herself for letting herself fall so deep. 

She's not one of these happy small-town people and she needs to remember it. 

But god damn. It's one of the happiest moments of her life. 

* * *

Her and Jughead get paired up for an English assignment. He collapses into the seat opposite her, in his lettermen jacket with his floppy dark hair and Veronica realises their hair is essentially the same shade. Raven. She's also realised that Cheryl wears a gold chain the way that Veronica wears her pearls. She's noticed that Toni rolls her eyes whenever their math teacher says something stupid, just like her. She's noticed that she smiles when Betty smiles. She's noticed that she wants to kiss Archie as much as Archie wants to kiss her. She's noticed that she looks forward to texting Jason, and she's noticed that she likes taking AP biology with Polly and her weird sense of humour. 

And now she and Jughead have the same hair. 

It's like she- like she belongs here and her skin crawls and she's scared. She hates to admit it, but she is. And she wishes her dad were here to make everything less complicated. 

"Hey," Jughead murmurs, eyebrows knitted together and sounding softer and more approachable than he ever has towards Veronica. "Are you okay, Ronnie?"

 _Ronnie._ Ronnie. Shit. He's calling her what Archie calls her. The rest of them call her  _V,_ and she likes that too, and she likes being a part of  _B and V,_ and she likes looking up to hearing her name in different forms and smiling at whoever it is. She likes it god damn and she shouldn't. "I...I..."

Jughead's green eyes sparkle, and he nods. "You need a milkshake at Pops." He says decisively. "My treat." 

She tells herself she goes because this is her chance to win over Jughead, and if she can do that, hopefully she'll win over Toni too. They're the only two people in the group who doesn't seem swooned by her yet. So, she sits opposite Jughead in the booth and lets him treat her with money she knows he doesn't have. She'll slip some cash into his jacket pocket when he isn't looking. (God, what has she become?) They stare at each other across the booth. Her stare is calculating and so is his. They're trying to size each other up. 

Jughead is smarter than she thought. "I need to tell you something." He says, which surprises her. 

She cocks her head, trying not to show it. "Oh?" 

"Betty. When you invited her to your house I told her to break into your dad's study and send me photos of the documents she found." 

Veronica freezes. Her jaw loosens in shock. Shit. Betty?  _Betty?_ Sweet, big blue eyes Betty? She tries to process it. She tries not to look caught out or vulnerable. "I see. So after this casual betrayal of my trust, you decided to let me know?" 

He shakes his head. He doesn't look guilty at all. "Actually, I didn't tell her to do it. You don't really tell Betty to do anything. We came up with it together, but I don't want you blaming her. We don't care that he's in prison, Veronica." He sighs, massaging his temples and she frowns. She's confused. Then what's the big secret? Her only secret is the fact that her dad is in prison. That's the only thing she's ever wanted to hide. And if they don't care... "He bought the land that the trailer park is built on. He's planning to kick us all out of our homes. Me, Toni, and all the other Serpents." 

What the hell is a Serpent? She thinks again, but that's just the surface. The rest of her brain is going haywire. 

Jughead reaches into his pocket and pulls out some folded documents. He slides them across the surface of the table. Veronica takes them numbly. "I don't think you knew, but I do think you didn't come to Riverdale High with the best intentions. I'm sure you're following his advice, but let me tell you this from one poorly raised kid to another- we're not our parents. We don't have to be. He won't be able to sell that land without your signature, Veronica. You don't have to give it to him." 

Water is sparkling in her eyes and she's not sure what to make about any of this. Why would her dad be doing this? Why would he be wanting to buy up Riverdale? She'd never even heard of this place till they'd moved here. "And I suppose this is your way of making me?" 

Jughead frowns, shaking his head. "Veronica, you do whatever you think you have to do." He rises up out of his booth and looks down at her. "Betty wanted to be the one to do this but I convinced her to let me do it. You have your family, the family who hid this," he taps the paper on the table with his fingers, "from you. Who hid the fact that your dad was breaking the law from you. Or you have a family with us. Me and Archie and Cheryl. All of us. It's not a traditional family but trust me when I tell you..." he shakes his head wistfully. "Sometimes it's better than the real deal. I'm not telling you what to do, you do whatever you have to, but you can only be part of one." He rifles through his pockets and pulls out something else. She thinks it'll be another document, but it's not. 

It's a picture. It's of Jughead and Betty, Cheryl and Toni, Jason and Polly and Archie. They're all around a bonfire; smiling and laughing. But four of them: Jughead, Betty, Cheryl and Toni are wearing black leather jackets (well, Cheryl's is red, but Veronica expects nothing less). There's an emblem on them. It's a green serpent. She doesn't understand. 

He touches her shoulder before he leaves. It's the first time he's ever touched her. 

Veronica stays in that booth for a long time. 

* * *

When she walks in on Monday, it's after a weekend of revelations, tears, anger and grief. 

When she walks in on Monday, she doesn't have a dad. 

When she walks in on Monday, Toni smiles at her for the first time. She kisses Archie without reserve for the first time. She pecks Betty's cheek and hugs Polly without fear of what anyone might think. She admits that Cheryl's outfit is better than hers. She gives Jason a friendship bracelet. She ruffles Jughead's hair. She sits on the student lounge sofas.

And finally, she goes to Kevin-

she says sorry and she invites him into their clique. 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> That was...weird. But I hope you liked it!
> 
> Lemmie know, down below 
> 
> MWAH
> 
> x


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